Biodiversity & Ecology

Journal of the Division Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants , Institute for Plant Science and Microbiology, University of Hamburg.

Short Database Report Open Access

Swiss Biodiversity Monitoring BDM (Z9 Mosses)

Thomas Stalling*

Article first published online: 24 September 2012

DOI: 10.7809/b-e.00135

*Corresponding author contact: stalling@hintermannweber.ch

<< Volume 4

Biodiversity & Ecology (Biodivers. Ecol.)

Special Volume: Vegetation databases for the 21st century,
edited by Jürgen Dengler, Jens Oldeland, Florian Jansen, Milan Chytrý, Jörg Ewald, Manfred Finckh, Falko Glöckler, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Robert K. Peet & Joop H.J. Schaminée

Volume 4, pages 344–344, Sep 12

PDF (203 kB)

Keywords: habitat; surveillance; Switzerland; vegetation.

English

Abstract: Switzerland is one of the first countries in the world to monitor its biological diversity. The Federal Office for the environment (FOEN) has launched a programme for this purpose called Biodiversity Monitoring in Switzerland (BDM). In conjunction with the BDM programme, experts contracted by the Federal Government will regularly count animals and plants in numerous predetermined areas in the field. Whereas numerical qualitative objectives are accepted in most areas of environmental protection (emissions thresholds in air pollution control, for example), there are so far no targets for how biodiversity should change. Biodiversity monitoring helps us to define specific targets for nature conservation policy and to establish whether the measures that have been implemented are enabling us to reach these targets. Mosses are surveyed for the state indicator Z9 (species diversity in habitats). This report describes the available content in the vegetation-plot database of the Swiss Biodiversity Monitoring BDM (Z9 Mosses) (GIVD ID EU-CH-010).

Suggested citation:
Stalling, T. (2012): Swiss Biodiversity Monitoring BDM (Z9 Mosses). – In: Dengler, J., Oldeland, J., Jansen, F., Chytrý, M., Ewald, J., Finckh, M., Glöckler, F., Lopez-Gonzalez, G., Peet, R.K., Schaminée, J.H.J. [Eds.]: Vegetation databases for the 21st century. – Biodiversity & Ecology 4: 344–344. DOI: 10.7809/b-e.00135.